Instant messaging (IM) has become a popular means of communication that, unlike email, enables users to engage in real-time digital conversations. Due to the ease with which digital communication can occur using instant messaging, some companies have begun allowing their employees to communicate company information via IM. As with email, many companies desire the ability to log the content of instant message communications in which their employees participate. This may be achieved for instances in which two employees of the same company participate in an instant message conversation while both logged into an instant messaging application that is provided by a company server. For example, a company may have Microsoft's Live Communication Server installed on a company network, which then enables communication between clients connected to the network using, for example, Microsoft's Windows Messenger. For example, two employees may log onto the company network using their computers at work or through a virtual private network (VPN) connection and use Microsoft's Windows Messenger to communicate with each other via instant messaging. Because the IM communication is enabled using software on the company network, such communication may be logged using additional software installed on the same network.
As described above, companies have the ability to log IM communications if all of the conversation participants are logged into the company network. This is insufficient in many cases, however, due to the fact that employees may be communicating with clients at other companies or may be wanting to communicate via IM from locations other than work, such as from home or while on travel, such as at an Internet kiosk in an airport. In such a scenario, an employee may log into an IM client, such as MSN Messenger, that is available over the Internet and participate in IM conversations as an employee of the company, but there is no way for the company to record a log of the conversation or to apply corporate policies in regard to the employee establishing the public IM connection. This is of great concern, especially in industries such as finance or healthcare, where communications by employees representing a company may be confidential or otherwise sensitive.
In addition to real-time digital conversations, many public IM services also provide the ability for two or more users connected to the public IM service to establish direct point-to-point connections (also commonly referred to as peer-to-peer connections). A point-to-point connection enables the users to exchange files and other data directly, without going through the public IM service.
Point-to-point communications raise an additional level of concern for companies in that a company has no control over what data an individual may be sharing while representing themselves as a company employee (via a user ID associated with the company).
Accordingly, a need exists for a company to have the ability to log instant message conversations that a user participates in while logged in as a company employee, regardless of whether or not the user is connected through a company controlled network. Alternatively, or additionally, a need exists for a company to have the ability to restrict participation in instant message conversations by employees who log into an instant message server from outside of a company controlled network. Furthermore, a need exists for companies to control whether or not their employees are allowed to participate in point-to-point communications, as enabled through an instant messaging client application.